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112-610: The name Tiṭṭawin means 'eyes' and 'water springs' in the Berber language . It is sometimes transliterated in European languages as Tatahouine , Tatahouïne , Tatawin or Tatooine . The names "Tataouine", "Tatahouine" and "Foum Tatahouine" all appeared in the postcards portraying the city in the 1920s. The city used to be called Fum Taṭāwīn ( فم تطاوين ), alternatively spelled Fumm Tattauin , Foum Tatahouine , Fum Tatawin , or Foum Tataouine , which means 'mouth of

224-490: A branch of the Afroasiatic language family . They comprise a group of closely related but mostly mutually unintelligible languages spoken by Berber communities, who are indigenous to North Africa . The languages are primarily spoken and not typically written. Historically, they have been written with the ancient Libyco-Berber script, which now exists in the form of Tifinagh . Today, they may also be written in

336-484: A considerable distance south of the River Ebro, and claimed the city as its protectorate . Hannibal not only perceived this as a breach of the treaty signed with Hasdrubal, but as he was already planning an attack on Rome, this was his way to start the war. So he laid siege to the city , which fell after eight months. Hannibal sent the booty from Saguntum to Carthage, a shrewd move which gained him much support from

448-479: A few million speakers of Berber languages in Western Europe . Tashlhiyt , Kabyle , Central Atlas Tamazight , Tarifit , and Shawiya are some of the most commonly spoken Berber languages. Exact numbers are impossible to ascertain as there are few modern North African censuses that include questions on language use, and what censuses do exist have known flaws. Following independence in the 20th century,

560-630: A few of the Italian city-states that he had expected to gain as allies defected to him. The war in Italy settled into a strategic stalemate. The Romans used the attritional strategy that Fabius had taught them, which, they finally realized, was the only feasible means of defeating Hannibal. Fabius received the name "Cunctator" ("the Delayer") because of his policy of not meeting Hannibal in open battle, but through attrition. The Romans deprived Hannibal of

672-582: A herd of cattle and drive them up the heights nearby. Some of the Romans, seeing a moving column of lights, were tricked into believing it was the Carthaginian army marching to escape along the heights. As they moved off in pursuit of this decoy, Hannibal managed to move his army in complete silence through the dark lowlands and up to an unguarded pass. Fabius himself was within striking distance but in this case his caution worked against him, as rightly sensing

784-406: A lack of commitment from Carthage of men, money, and material—principally siege equipment. Whatever the reason, the choice prompted Maharbal to say, "Hannibal, you know how to gain a victory, but not how to use one." As a result of this victory, many parts of Italy joined Hannibal's cause. As Polybius notes, "How much more serious was the defeat of Cannae, than those that preceded it can be seen by

896-414: A large-scale battle and instead assaulted his weakening army with multiple smaller armies in an attempt to both weary him and create unrest in his troops. For the next few years, Hannibal was forced to sustain a scorched earth policy and obtain local provisions for protracted and ineffectual operations throughout southern Italy. His immediate objectives were reduced to minor operations centred mainly around

1008-583: A northern front and subduing allied city-states on the peninsula, rather than by attacking Rome directly. Historical events that led to the defeat of Carthage during the First Punic War when his father commanded the Carthaginian Army also led Hannibal to plan the invasion of Italy by land across the Alps. The task involved the mobilization of between 60,000 and 100,000 troops and the training of

1120-612: A number of key loanwords related to pastoralism that are of Berber origin, including the terms for sheep and water/ Nile . This in turn suggests that the C-Group population—which, along with the Kerma culture , inhabited the Nile valley immediately before the arrival of the first Nubian speakers—spoke Afroasiatic languages. Berber languages are primarily oral languages without a major written component. Historically, they were written with

1232-541: A policy of Arabisation, which, after the imposition of the Circular of July 1976, encompassed the spheres of education, public administration, public signage, print publication, and the judiciary. While primarily directed towards the erasure of French in Algerian society, these policies also targeted Berber languages, leading to dissatisfaction and unrest amongst speakers of Berber languages, who made up about one quarter of

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1344-718: A prospective new constitution, it does not have official status in Libya as in Morocco and Algeria. As areas of Libya south and west of Tripoli such as the Nafusa Mountains were taken from the control of Gaddafi government forces in early summer 2011, Berber workshops and exhibitions sprang up to share and spread the Berber culture and language. In Mali and Niger, some Tuareg languages have been recognized as national languages and have been part of school curriculums since

1456-696: A region corresponding with the Mediterranean coasts of modern Lebanon and Syria. There is a lesser supported theory that he was born in Malta , at the time, a part of Carthage. He had several sisters whose names are unknown, and two brothers, Hasdrubal and Mago . His brothers-in-law were Hasdrubal the Fair and the Numidian king Naravas . He was still a child when his sisters married, and his brothers-in-law were close associates during his father's struggles in

1568-559: A thick wall protecting them from desiccation, the extreme heat and the sun's UV) and become rod-like during the night when they need less protection, thus becoming able to move and colonize even the smallest cracks in rocks. The discovery and research around Ramlibacter tataouinensis is scientifically significant because it demonstrated that rod-like structures observed in another meteorite, the ALH 84001 discovered in Antartica, and thought for

1680-487: A time to be of extraterrestrial origin, could actually be terrestrial bacteria from the ground which had contaminated and then colonized the sample. Numerous fossils, including vegetal, trees, animals, and dinosaurs footprints have been found in the region, several being exhibited at the local Museum of Earth Memory . Among dinosaurs, Tataouinea is a genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaurs with avian-like bone structures described in 2013. Additional fossil material

1792-526: A treaty with Rome whereby Carthage would not expand north of the Ebro so long as Rome did not expand south of it. Hasdrubal also endeavoured to consolidate Carthaginian power through diplomatic relationships with the native tribes of Iberia and native Berbers of the North African coasts. Upon the assassination of Hasdrubal in 221 BC, Hannibal, now 26 years old, was proclaimed commander-in-chief by

1904-431: A trick he stayed put. Thus, Hannibal managed to stealthily escape with his entire army intact. What Hannibal achieved in extricating his army was, as Adrian Goldsworthy puts it, "a classic of ancient generalship, finding its way into nearly every historical narrative of the war and being used by later military manuals". This was a severe blow to Fabius' prestige and soon after this his period of dictatorial power ended. For

2016-632: A war of attrition (the Fabian strategy ). Carthaginian defeats in Hispania prevented Hannibal from being reinforced, and he was unable to win a decisive victory. A counter-invasion of North Africa, led by the Roman general Scipio Africanus , forced him to return to Carthage. Hannibal was eventually defeated at the Battle of Zama , ending the war in a Roman victory. After the war, Hannibal successfully ran for

2128-480: A war-elephant corps, all of which had to be provisioned along the way. The alpine invasion of Italy was a military operation that would shake the Mediterranean World of 218 BC with repercussions for more than two decades. Hannibal's perilous march brought him into the Roman territory and frustrated the attempts of the enemy to fight out the main issue on foreign ground. His sudden appearance among

2240-538: A woman from Castulo , a powerful Spanish city closely allied with Carthage. The Roman epic poet Silius Italicus names her as Imilce . Silius suggests a Greek origin for Imilce, but Gilbert Charles-Picard argued for a Punic heritage based on an etymology from the Semitic root m-l-k ('chief, the 'king'). Silius also suggests the existence of a son, who is otherwise not attested by Livy, Polybius, or Appian . The son may have been named Haspar or Aspar, although this

2352-621: Is disputed. After he assumed command, Hannibal spent two years consolidating his holdings and completing the conquest of Hispania, south of the Ebro. In his first campaign, Hannibal attacked and stormed the Olcades ' strongest centre, Alithia, which promptly led to their surrender, and brought Punic power close to the River Tagus . His following campaign in 220 BC was against the Vaccaei to

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2464-1437: Is listed as negligible, and the last Sokna speaker is thought to have died in the 1950s. There are an estimated 50,000 Djerbi speakers in Tunisia , based on figures from 2004. Sened is likely extinct, with the last speaker having died in the 1970s. Ghadamés, though not indigenous to Tunisia, is estimated to have 3,100 speakers throughout the country. Chenini is one of the rare remaining Berber-speaking villages in Tunisia. There are an estimated 20,000 Siwi speakers in Egypt , based on figures from 2013. As of 2018 and 2017 respectively, there were an estimated 200 speakers of Zenaga and 117,000 of Tamasheq in Mauritania . As of 2009, there were an estimated 122,000 Tamasheq speakers in Burkina Faso. There are an estimated 1.5 million speakers of various Berber languages in France. A small number of Tawellemmet speakers live in Nigeria. In total, there are an estimated 3.6 million speakers of Berber languages in countries outside of Morocco and Algeria, summarized as follows: After independence, all

2576-444: Is often argued that, if Hannibal had received proper material reinforcements from Carthage, he might have succeeded with a direct attack upon Rome. Instead, he had to content himself with subduing the fortresses that still held out against him, and the only other notable event of 216 BC was the defection of certain Italian territories, including Capua , the second largest city of Italy, which Hannibal made his new base. However, only

2688-419: Is often included as an Eastern Berber language alongside Siwa, Sokna, and El Foqaha. These approaches divide the Berber languages into Northern, Southern (Tuareg), Eastern, and Western varieties. The vast majority of speakers of Berber languages are concentrated in Morocco and Algeria. The exact population of speakers has been historically difficult to ascertain due to lack of official recognition. Morocco

2800-549: Is sometimes used to refer to a specific subset of Berber languages, such as Central Tashlhiyt. "Tamazight" can also be used to refer to Standard Moroccan Tamazight or Standard Algerian Tamazight , as in the Moroccan and Algerian constitutions respectively. In Morocco, besides referring to all Berber languages or to Standard Moroccan Tamazight, "Tamazight" is often used in contrast to Tashelhit and Tarifit to refer to Central Atlas Tamazight . The use of Berber has been

2912-600: Is the country with the greatest number of speakers of Berber languages. As of 2022, Ethnologue estimates there to be 13.8 million speakers of Berber languages in Morocco, based on figures from 2016 and 2017. In 1960, the first census after Moroccan independence was held. It claimed that 32 percent of Moroccans spoke a Berber language, including bi-, tri- and quadrilingual people. The 2004 census found that 3,894,805 Moroccans over five years of age spoke Tashelhit, 2,343,937 spoke Central Atlas Tamazight, and 1,270,986 spoke Tarifit, representing 14.6%, 8.8%, and 4.8% respectively of

3024-563: The Battle of Carrhae against the Parthian Empire . Hannibal had now disposed of the only field force that could check his advance upon Rome. He realized that without siege engines , he could not hope to take the capital. He opted to exploit his victory by entering into central and southern Italy and encouraging a general revolt against the sovereign power. The Romans appointed Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus as their dictator. Departing from Roman military traditions, Fabius adopted

3136-612: The Battle of Magnesia and was forced to accept Rome's terms, and Hannibal fled again, making a stop in the Kingdom of Armenia . His flight ended in the court of Bithynia . He was betrayed to the Romans and committed suicide by poisoning himself. Hannibal is considered one of the greatest military tacticians and generals of Western antiquity, alongside Alexander the Great , Cyrus the Great , Julius Caesar , Scipio Africanus , and Pyrrhus . According to Plutarch , Scipio asked Hannibal "who

3248-598: The Berber Latin alphabet or the Arabic script , with Latin being the most pervasive. The Berber languages have a similar level of variety to the Romance languages , although they are sometimes referred to as a single collective language, often as "Berber", "Tamazight", or "Amazigh". The languages, with a few exceptions, form a dialect continuum . There is a debate as to how to best sub-categorize languages within

3360-535: The Gauls of the Po Valley, moreover, enabled him to detach those tribes from their new allegiance to the Romans before the Romans could take steps to check the rebellion. Publius Cornelius Scipio was the consul who commanded the Roman force sent to intercept Hannibal. He was also the father of Scipio Africanus. He had not expected Hannibal to make an attempt to cross the Alps, since the Romans were prepared to fight

3472-719: The Kabyles use the term "Leqbayel" to refer to their own people, while the Chaouis identified themselves as "Ishawiyen" instead of Berber/Amazigh. Since modern Berber languages are relatively homogeneous, the date of the Proto-Berber language from which the modern group is derived was probably comparatively recent, comparable to the age of the Germanic or Romance subfamilies of the Indo-European family. In contrast,

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3584-594: The Libyco-Berber script . Early uses of the script have been found on rock art and in various sepulchres; the oldest known variations of the script dates to inscriptions in Dugga from 600 BC. Usage of this script, in the form of Tifinagh , has continued into the present day among the Tuareg people . Following the spread of Islam , some Berber scholars also utilized the Arabic script . The Berber Latin alphabet

3696-470: The Maghreb countries to varying degrees pursued a policy of Arabisation , aimed partly at displacing French from its colonial position as the dominant language of education and literacy. Under this policy the use of the Berber languages was suppressed or even banned. This state of affairs has been contested by Berbers in Morocco and Algeria—especially Kabylie —and was addressed in both countries by affording

3808-614: The Matterhorn . Stanford geoarchaeologist Patrick Hunt argues that Hannibal took the Col de Clapier mountain pass, claiming the Clapier most accurately met ancient depictions of the route: wide view of Italy, pockets of year-round snow, and a large campground. Other scholars have doubts, proposing that Hannibal took the easier route across Petit Mount Cenis. Hunt responds to this by proposing that Hannibal's Celtic guides purposefully misguided

3920-808: The Mercenary War and the Punic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula . After Carthage's defeat in the First Punic War , Hamilcar set out to improve his family's and Carthage's fortunes. With that in mind and supported by Gades , Hamilcar began the subjugation of the tribes of the Iberian Peninsula (Modern Spain and Portugal). Carthage at the time was in such a poor state that it lacked a navy able to transport his army; instead, Hamilcar had to march his forces across Numidia towards

4032-517: The Pillars of Hercules and then cross the Strait of Gibraltar . According to Polybius , Hannibal much later said that when he came upon his father and begged to go with him, Hamilcar agreed and demanded that Hannibal swear that he would never be a friend of Rome as long as he lived. There is even an account of him at a very young age (9 years old) begging his father to take him to an overseas war. In

4144-598: The Roman Republic during the Second Punic War . Hannibal's father, Hamilcar Barca , was a leading Carthaginian general during the First Punic War . His younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal ; his brother-in-law was Hasdrubal the Fair , who commanded other Carthaginian armies. Hannibal lived during a period of great tension in the Mediterranean Basin , triggered by the emergence of

4256-551: The strategy named after him , avoiding open battle while placing several Roman armies in Hannibal's vicinity in order to watch and limit his movements. Hannibal ravaged Apulia but was unable to bring Fabius to battle, so he decided to march through Samnium to Campania , one of the richest and most fertile provinces of Italy, hoping that the devastation would draw Fabius into battle. Fabius closely followed Hannibal's path of destruction, yet still refused to let himself be drawn out of

4368-497: The 1960s. In linguistics, the phonology of Berber languages is written with the International Phonetic Alphabet , with the following exceptions: Hannibal Hannibal ( / ˈ h æ n ɪ b əl / ; Punic : 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 , romanized:  Ḥanībaʿl ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against

4480-524: The Berber branch. Berber languages typically follow verb–subject–object word order . Their phonological inventories are diverse. Millions of people in Morocco and Algeria natively speak a Berber language, as do smaller populations of Libya , Tunisia , northern Mali , western and northern Niger , northern Burkina Faso and Mauritania and the Siwa Oasis of Egypt . There are also probably

4592-543: The Berber languages have been suppressed and suffered from low prestige in North Africa . Recognition of the Berber languages has been growing in the 21st century, with Morocco and Algeria adding Tamazight as an official language to their constitutions in 2011 and 2016 respectively. Most Berber languages have a high percentage of borrowing and influence from the Arabic language , as well as from other languages. For example, Arabic loanwords represent 35% to 46% of

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4704-419: The Carthaginian general. Most recently, W. C. Mahaney has argued Col de la Traversette closest fits the records of ancient authors. Biostratigraphic archaeological data has reinforced the case for Col de la Traversette; analysis of peat bogs near watercourses on both sides of the pass's summit showed that the ground was heavily disturbed "by thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of animals and humans" and that

4816-461: The Carthaginian heavy cavalry and the Numidians attacked the legions from behind. As a result, the Roman army was fully surrounded with no means of escape. Due to these brilliant tactics, Hannibal managed to surround and destroy all but a small remnant of his enemy, despite his own inferior numbers. Depending upon the source, it is estimated that 50,000–70,000 Romans were killed or captured. Among

4928-698: The Carthaginians ancestral homeland of Phoenicia in Western Asia. Its precise vocalization remains a matter of debate. Suggested readings include Ḥannobaʿal , Ḥannibaʿl , or Ḥannibaʿal , meaning "Baʿal/The lord is gracious", "Baʿal Has Been Gracious", or "The Grace of Baʿal". It is equivalent to the fellow Semitic Hebrew name Haniel . Greek historians rendered the name as Anníbas ( Ἀννίβας ). The Phoenicians and Carthaginians, like many West Asian Semitic peoples, did not use hereditary surnames, but were typically distinguished from others bearing

5040-461: The Libyan mercenaries on the wings, swung around by the movement, menaced their flanks. The onslaught of Hannibal's cavalry was unstoppable. Hannibal's chief cavalry commander, Maharbal , led the mobile Numidian cavalry on the right which shattered the Roman cavalry opposing them. Hannibal's Iberian and Gallic heavy cavalry on the left, led by Hanno, defeated the Roman heavy cavalry after which both

5152-544: The Po Valley. Even before news of the defeat at Ticinus had reached Rome, the Senate had ordered Consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus to bring his army back from Sicily to meet Scipio and face Hannibal. Hannibal, by skillful maneuvers, was in position to head him off, for he lay on the direct road between Placentia and Arminum, by which Sempronius would have to march to reinforce Scipio. He then captured Clastidium, from which he drew large amounts of supplies for his men. But this gain

5264-467: The Po plains" taken together with "massive radiocarbon and microbiological and parasitical evidence" from the alluvial sediments either side of the pass furnish "supporting evidence, proof if you will" that Hannibal's invasion went that way. If Hannibal had ascended the Col de la Traversette, the Po Valley would indeed have been visible from the pass's summit, vindicating Polybius's account. By Livy's account,

5376-654: The Pyrenees, the Alps, and many large rivers. Additionally, he would have to contend with opposition from the Gauls , whose territory he passed through. Starting in the spring of 218 BC, he crossed the Pyrenees and, by conciliating the Gaulish chiefs along his passage before the Romans could take any measures to bar his advance, was able to reach the Rhône by September. Hannibal's army numbered 38,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, and 38 elephants, almost none of which would survive

5488-703: The Roman Republic as a great power with its defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War. Revanchism prevailed in Carthage, symbolized by the pledge that Hannibal made to his father to "never be a friend of Rome". In 218 BC, Hannibal attacked Saguntum (modern Sagunto , Spain), an ally of Rome, in Hispania , sparking the Second Punic War. Hannibal invaded Italy by crossing the Alps with North African war elephants . In his first few years in Italy, as

5600-552: The Romans pre-emptively invaded the Po region in 225 BC. By 220 BC, the Romans had annexed the area as Cisalpine Gaul . Hasdrubal was assassinated around the same time (221 BC), bringing Hannibal to the fore. It seems that the Romans lulled themselves into a false sense of security, having dealt with the threat of a Gallo-Carthaginian invasion, and perhaps knowing that the original Carthaginian commander had been killed. Hannibal departed Cartagena, Spain (New Carthage) in late spring of 218 BC. He fought his way through

5712-592: The Tunisian government as false. In September 2016, a new oil field was found south of the town by the Italian company Eni . The Ksour Festival ( French : Festival international des ksour sahariens ) is an annual festival held in Tataouine in March. In Tataouine some people speak a Berber dialect . On June 27, 1931, at 1:30am, a meteorite of a weight currently estimated of ca 50 kg fell 4 km North of

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5824-399: The adjective referring to the town of Tatatouine) and which survive in the desert soil of the region despite harsh conditions. This bacteria and another closely related one which was named Ramlibacter henchirensis (from Henchir meaning in Tunisian dialect a field surrounded by stones or antique ruins) have the peculiar feature to be spherical during the day (forming a microbial cyst with

5936-476: The army and confirmed in his appointment by the Carthaginian government. The Roman scholar Livy gives a depiction of the young Carthaginian: "No sooner had he arrived...the old soldiers fancied they saw Hamilcar in his youth given back to them; the same bright look; the same fire in his eye, the same trick of countenance and features. Never was one and the same spirit more skilful to meet opposition, to obey, or to command[.]" Livy also records that Hannibal married

6048-668: The behaviour of Rome's allies; before that fateful day, their loyalty remained unshaken, now it began to waver for the simple reason that they despaired of Roman Power." During that same year, the Greek cities in Sicily were induced to revolt against Roman political control, while Macedonian King Philip V pledged his support to Hannibal— initiating the First Macedonian War against Rome. Hannibal also secured an alliance with newly appointed tyrant Hieronymus of Syracuse . It

6160-486: The case of Zenaga and Tuareg. Kossmann roughly groups the Berber languages into seven blocks: The Zenatic block is typically divided into the Zenati and Eastern Berber branches, due to the marked difference in features at each end of the continuum. Otherwise, subclassifications by different linguists typically combine various blocks into different branches. Western Moroccan languages, Zenati languages, Kabyle, and Ghadames may be grouped under Northern Berber ; Awjila

6272-487: The cities of Campania . The forces detached to his lieutenants were generally unable to hold their own, and neither his home government nor his new ally Philip V of Macedon helped to make up his losses. His position in southern Italy, therefore, became increasingly difficult and his chance of ultimately conquering Rome grew ever more remote. Hannibal still won a number of notable victories: completely destroying two Roman armies in 212 BC, and killing two consuls, including

6384-514: The city. Due to a transcription error, it is recorded in the Meteoretical Society international database under the name Tatahouine (with an added h). It is a rare diogenite originating from 4 Vesta in the asteroid belt. On observing fragments of the Tatahouine meteorite, researchers noticed rod-like structures. Upon further investigation, those turned out to be a kind of bacteria which was named Ramlibacter tataouinensis (from Raml meaning sand in Arabic, bacter meaning bacteria in Latin, and

6496-423: The combat area. Hannibal drew up his least reliable infantry in the centre in a semicircle curving towards the Romans. Placing them forward of the wings allowed them room to fall back, luring the Romans after them, while the cavalry on the flanks dealt with their Roman counterparts. Hannibal's wings were composed of the Gallic and Numidian cavalry. The Roman legions forced their way through Hannibal's weak centre, but

6608-430: The crossing was accomplished in the face of huge difficulties. These Hannibal surmounted with ingenuity, such as when he used vinegar and fire to break through a rockfall. According to Polybius, he arrived in Italy accompanied by 20,000 foot soldiers, 4,000 horsemen, and only a few elephants. The fired rockfall event is mentioned only by Livy; Polybius is mute on the subject and there is no evidence of carbonized rock at

6720-453: The dead were Roman consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus , two consuls for the preceding year, two quaestors , 29 of the 48 military tribunes, and an additional eighty senators. At a time when the Roman Senate was composed of no more than 300 men, this constituted 25–30% of the governing body. This makes the battle one of the most catastrophic defeats in the history of ancient Rome , and one of the bloodiest battles in all of human history, in terms of

6832-407: The defensive. This strategy was unpopular with many Romans, who believed that it was a form of cowardice. Hannibal decided that it would be unwise to winter in the already devastated lowlands of Campania, but Fabius had trapped him there by ensuring that all the exit passes were blocked. This situation led to the night Battle of Ager Falernus . Hannibal had his men tie burning torches to the horns of

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6944-611: The district beyond, Flaminius (partly for fear of popular reproach and partly of personal irritation) would be unable to endure watching passively the devastation of the country but would spontaneously follow him... and give him opportunities for attack." At the same time, Hannibal tried to break the allegiance of Rome's allies by proving that Flaminius was powerless to protect them. Despite this, Flaminius remained passively encamped at Arretium. Hannibal marched boldly around Flaminius' left flank, unable to draw him into battle by mere devastation, and effectively cut him off from Rome, executing

7056-632: The exception of Zenaga, Tetserret, and Tuareg, the Berber languages form a dialect continuum . Different linguists take different approaches towards drawing boundaries between languages in this continuum. Maarten Kossmann notes that it is difficult to apply the classic tree model of historical linguistics towards the Berber languages: [The Berber language family]'s continuous history of convergence and differentiation along new lines makes an definition of branches arbitrary. Moreover, mutual intelligibility and mutual influence render notions such as "split" or "branching" rather difficult to apply except, maybe, in

7168-437: The famed Marcus Claudius Marcellus in a battle in 208 BC. However, Hannibal slowly began losing ground—inadequately supported by his Italian allies, abandoned by his government, either because of jealousy or simply because Carthage was overstretched, and unable to match Rome's resources. He was never able to bring about another grand decisive victory that could produce a lasting strategic change. Carthaginian political will

7280-428: The first recorded turning movement in military history. He then advanced through the uplands of Etruria , provoking Flaminius into a hasty pursuit and catching him in a defile on the shore of Lake Trasimenus . There Hannibal destroyed Flaminius' army in the waters or on the adjoining slopes, killing Flaminius as well (see Battle of Lake Trasimene ). This was the most costly ambush that the Romans ever sustained until

7392-542: The flanks. However, most or all of his war elephants had died of injuries or the cold that winter and none took part in the succeeding battles at Lake Trasimene and/or Cannae. Hannibal quartered his troops for the winter with the Gauls, whose support for him had abated. Fearing the possibility of an assassination attempt by his Gallic allies, Hannibal had a number of wigs made, dyed to suit the appearance of persons differing widely in age, and kept constantly changing them, so that any would-be assassins wouldn't recognize him. In

7504-638: The government; Livy records that only Hanno II the Great spoke against him. In Rome, the Senate reacted to this apparent violation of the treaty by dispatching a delegation to Carthage to demand whether Hannibal had destroyed Saguntum in accordance with orders from Carthage. The Carthaginian Senate responded with legal arguments observing the lack of ratification by either government for the treaty alleged to have been violated. The delegation's leader, Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus , demanded Carthage choose between war and peace, to which his audience replied that Rome could choose. Fabius chose war. This campaign

7616-407: The greatest general was", to which Hannibal replied "either Alexander or Pyrrhus, then himself". Hannibal was a common Semitic Phoenician-Carthaginian personal name. It is recorded in Carthaginian sources as ḤNBʿL ( Punic : 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 ). It is a combination of the common Phoenician masculine given name Hanno with the Northwest Semitic Canaanite deity Baal (lit, "lord") a major god of

7728-406: The harsh conditions of the Alps. Hannibal outmanoeuvred the natives who had tried to prevent his crossing, then evaded a Roman force marching from the Mediterranean coast by turning inland up the valley of the Rhône. His exact route over the Alps has been the source of scholarly dispute ever since (Polybius, the surviving ancient account closest in time to Hannibal's campaign, reports that the route

7840-461: The inclusion of Tamazight as an official language. The 2000 Charter for Education Reform marked a change in policy, with its statement of "openness to Tamazight." Planning for a public Tamazight-language TV network began in 2006; in 2010, the Moroccan government launched Tamazight TV . On July 29, 2011, Tamazight was added as an official language to the Moroccan constitution. After gaining independence from France in 1962, Algeria committed to

7952-419: The language official status and introducing it in some schools. After gaining independence from France in 1956, Morocco began a period of Arabisation through 1981, with primary and secondary school education gradually being changed to Arabic instruction, and with the aim of having administration done in Arabic, rather than French. During this time, there were riots amongst the Amazigh population, which called for

8064-617: The leader of a Carthaginian and partially Celtic army, he won a succession of victories at the Battle of Ticinus , Trebia , Lake Trasimene , and Cannae , inflicting heavy losses on the Romans. Hannibal was distinguished for his ability to determine both his and his opponent's respective strengths and weaknesses, and to plan battles accordingly. His well-planned strategies allowed him to conquer and ally with several Italian cities that were previously allied to Rome. Hannibal occupied most of southern Italy for 15 years. The Romans, led by Fabius Maximus , avoided directly engaging him, instead waging

8176-515: The meantime, the Romans hoped to gain success through sheer strength and weight of numbers, and they raised a new army of unprecedented size, estimated by some to be as large as 100,000 men, but more likely around 50,000–80,000. The Romans and allied legions resolved to confront Hannibal and marched southward to Apulia . They eventually found him on the left bank of the Aufidus River, and encamped 10 km (6 mi) away. On this occasion,

8288-555: The mineral enstatite , and is of the rare Diogenite type. Tataouine became the inspiration of Tatooine when the town was chosen as a filming location for exterior scenes of the desert planet in the Star Wars film series. Another location that was considered is Lallmatie , a small town in Mauritius. In March 2015, it was briefly reported that ISIL was using Tataouine as a military base, but later these claims were denied by

8400-545: The multitudes of other Carthaginians named Hasdrubal and Mago, but this practice is ahistorical and is rarely applied to Hannibal. Hannibal was one of the sons of Hamilcar Barca , a Carthaginian leader, and an unknown mother. He was most likely born in the city of Carthage, located in what is present-day northern Tunisia , one of many Mediterranean regions colonised by the Canaanites from their homeland in Phoenicia ,

8512-494: The northern tribes to the foothills of the Pyrenees , subduing the tribes through clever mountain tactics and stubborn fighting. He left a detachment of 20,000 troops to garrison the newly conquered region. At the Pyrenees, he released 11,000 Iberian troops who showed reluctance to leave their homeland. Hannibal reportedly entered Gaul with 40,000 foot soldiers and 12,000 horsemen. Hannibal recognized that he still needed to cross

8624-404: The number of lives lost in a single day. After Cannae, the Romans were very hesitant to confront Hannibal in pitched battle, preferring instead to weaken him by attrition, relying on their advantages of interior lines, supply, and manpower. As a result, Hannibal fought no more major battles in Italy for the rest of the war. It is believed that his refusal to bring the war to Rome itself was due to

8736-517: The office of sufet . He enacted political and financial reforms to enable the payment of the war indemnity imposed by Rome. Those reforms were unpopular with members of the Carthaginian aristocracy and in Rome, and he fled into voluntary exile. During this time, he lived at the Seleucid court, where he acted as military advisor to Antiochus III the Great in his war against Rome. Antiochus met defeat at

8848-587: The only two-tier rockfall in the Western Alps, located below the Col de la Traversette (Mahaney, 2008). If Polybius is correct in his figure for the number of troops that he commanded after the crossing of the Rhône, this would suggest that he had lost almost half of his force. Historians such as Serge Lancel have questioned the reliability of the figures for the number of troops that he had when he left Hispania. From

8960-704: The peace party led by Hanno II the Great . Hanno had been instrumental in denying Hannibal's requested reinforcements following the battle at Cannae. Hannibal started the war without the full backing of Carthaginian oligarchy. His attack of Saguntum had presented the oligarchy with a choice of war with Rome or loss of prestige in Iberia. The oligarchy, not Hannibal, controlled the strategic resources of Carthage. Hannibal constantly sought reinforcements from either Iberia or North Africa. Hannibal's troops who were lost in combat were replaced with less well-trained and motivated mercenaries from Italy or Gaul. The commercial interests of

9072-594: The population. After the 1994-1995 general school boycott in Kabylia, Tamazight was recognized for the first time as a national language. In 2002, following the riots of the Black Spring , Tamazight was recognized for the second time as a national language , though not as an official one. This was done on April 8, 2003. Tamazight has been taught for three hours a week through the first three years of Algerian middle schools since 2005. On January 5, 2016, it

9184-493: The same name using patronymics or epithets . Although he is by far the most famous Hannibal, when further clarification is necessary he is usually referred to as "Hannibal, son of Hamilcar", or "Hannibal the Barcid", the latter term applying to the family of his father, Hamilcar Barca . Barca ( Punic : 𐤁𐤓𐤒 , BRQ ) is a Semitic cognomen meaning "lightning" or "thunderbolt", a surname acquired by Hamilcar on account of

9296-508: The seemingly impassable Arno, but he lost a large part of his force in the marshy lowlands of the Arno. He arrived in Etruria in the spring of 217 BC and decided to lure the main Roman army under Flaminius into a pitched battle by devastating the region that Flaminius had been sent to protect. As Polybius recounts, "he [Hannibal] calculated that, if he passed the camp and made a descent into

9408-417: The sheer size of the army required both generals to command a wing each. This theory is supported by the fact that, after Varro survived the battle he was pardoned by the Senate, which would be peculiar if he were the sole commander at fault. Hannibal capitalized on the eagerness of the Romans and drew them into a trap by using an envelopment tactic . This eliminated the Roman numerical advantage by shrinking

9520-407: The soil bore traces of unique levels of Clostridia bacteria associated with the digestive tract of horses and mules. Radiocarbon dating secured dates of 2168 BP or c. 218 BC, the year of Hannibal's march. Mahaney et al . have concluded that this and other evidence strongly supports the Col de la Traversette as being the "Hannibalic Route" as had been argued by Gavin de Beer in 1954. De Beer

9632-577: The split of the group from the other Afroasiatic sub-phyla is much earlier, and is therefore sometimes associated with the local Mesolithic Capsian culture . A number of extinct populations are believed to have spoken Afroasiatic languages of the Berber branch. According to Peter Behrens and Marianne Bechaus-Gerst, linguistic evidence suggests that the peoples of the C-Group culture in present-day southern Egypt and northern Sudan spoke Berber languages. The Nilo-Saharan Nobiin language today contains

9744-579: The spring of 217 BC, Hannibal decided to find a more reliable base of operations farther south. Gnaeus Servilius and Gaius Flaminius (the new consuls of Rome) were expecting Hannibal to advance on Rome, and they took their armies to block the eastern and western routes that Hannibal could use. The only alternative route to central Italy lay at the mouth of the Arno . This area was practically one huge marsh, and happened to be overflowing more than usual during this particular season. Hannibal knew that this route

9856-488: The springs'. From 1892 to 1951, Tataouine was the garrison town of the French penal military unit known as the " Battalion of Light Infantry of Africa ". After the French established the town, a mosque (built in 1898) and homes were built in Tataouine. On June 27, 1931, a meteorite of unusual achondrite type and green color impacted at Tataouine; about 12 kg of fragments were found. The meteorite consists largely of

9968-470: The start, he seems to have calculated that he would have to operate without aid from Hispania. Hannibal's vision of military affairs was derived partly from the teaching of his Greek tutors and partly from experience gained alongside his father, and it stretched over most of the Hellenistic World of his time. The breadth of his vision gave rise to his grand strategy of conquering Rome by opening

10080-410: The story, Hannibal's father took him up and brought him to a sacrificial chamber. Hamilcar held Hannibal over the fire roaring in the chamber and made him swear that he would never be a friend of Rome. Other sources report that Hannibal told his father, "I swear so soon as age will permit...I will use fire and steel to arrest the destiny of Rome." According to the tradition, Hannibal's oath took place in

10192-549: The subject of debate due to its historical background as an exonym and present equivalence with the Arabic word for "barbarian." One group, the Linguasphere Observatory , has attempted to introduce the neologism "Tamazic languages" to refer to the Berber languages. Amazigh people typically use "Tamazight" when speaking English. Historically, Berbers did not refer to themselves as Berbers/Amazigh but had their own terms to refer to themselves. For example,

10304-452: The surveyed population, or roughly 28.2% of the surveyed population combined. The 2014 census found that 14.1% of the population spoke Tashelhit, 7.9% spoke Central Atlas Tamazight, and 4% spoke Tarifit, or about 26% of the population combined. These estimates, as well as the estimates from various academic sources, are summarized as follows: Algeria is the country with the second greatest number of speakers of Berber languages. In 1906,

10416-609: The swiftness and ferocity of his attacks. Barca is cognate with similar names for lightning found among the Israelites , Assyrians , Babylonians , Arameans , Arabs , Amorites , Moabites , Edomites and other fellow Asiatic Semitic peoples. Although they did not inherit the surname from their father, Hamilcar's progeny are collectively known as the Barcids . Modern historians occasionally refer to Hannibal's brothers as Hasdrubal Barca and Mago Barca to distinguish them from

10528-468: The total population speaking Berber languages in Algeria, excluding the thinly populated Sahara region, was estimated at 1,305,730 out of 4,447,149, or 29%. Secondary sources disagree on the percentage of self-declared native Berber speakers in the 1966 census, the last Algerian census containing a question about the mother tongue. Some give 17.9% while other report 19%. Kabyle speakers account for

10640-666: The total vocabulary of the Kabyle language and represent 51.7% of the total vocabulary of Tarifit . Almost all Berber languages took from Arabic the pharyngeal fricatives /ʕ/ and /ħ/, the (nongeminated) uvular stop /q/, and the voiceless pharyngealized consonant /ṣ/. Unlike the Chadic , Cushitic , and Omotic languages of the Afro-Asiatic phylum, Berber languages are not tonal languages. "Tamazight" and "Berber languages" are often used interchangeably. However, "Tamazight"

10752-484: The town of Peñíscola , today part of the Valencian Community , Spain. Hannibal's father went about with the conquest of Hispania . When his father drowned in battle, Hannibal's brother-in-law Hasdrubal the Fair succeeded to his command of the army with Hannibal (then 18 years old) serving as an officer under him. Hasdrubal pursued a policy of consolidation of Carthage's Iberian interests, even signing

10864-419: The two armies were combined into one, the consuls having to alternate their command on a daily basis. According to Livy, Varro was a man of reckless and hubristic nature and it was his turn to command on the day of battle. This account is possibly biased against Varro as its main source, Polybius, was a client of Paullus's aristocratic family whereas Varro was less distinguished. Some historians have suggested that

10976-441: The upper Guil valley and the upper Po river is the highest pass. It is moreover the most southerly, as Varro in his De re rustica relates, agreeing that Hannibal's Pass was the highest in Western Alps and the most southerly. Mahaney et al . argue that factors used by De Beer to support Col de la Traversette including "gauging ancient place names against modern, close scrutiny of times of flood in major rivers and distant viewing of

11088-1211: The vast majority of speakers of Berber languages in Algeria. Shawiya is the second most commonly spoken Berber language in Algeria. Other Berber languages spoken in Algeria include: Shenwa , with 76,300 speakers; Tashelhit, with 6,000 speakers; Ouargli , with 20,000 speakers; Tamahaq , with 71,400 speakers; Tugurt , with 8,100 speakers; Tidikelt , with 1,000 speakers; Gurara , with 11,000 speakers; and Mozabite , with 150,000 speakers. Population estimates are summarized as follows: As of 1998, there were an estimated 450,000 Tawellemmet speakers, 250,000 Air Tamajeq speakers, and 20,000 Tamahaq speakers in Niger . As of 2018 and 2014 respectively, there were an estimated 420,000 speakers of Tawellemmet and 378,000 of Tamasheq in Mali . As of 2022, based on figures from 2020, Ethnologue estimates there to be 285,890 speakers of Berber languages in Libya : 247,000 speakers of Nafusi , 22,800 speakers of Tamahaq, 13,400 speakers of Ghadamés , and 2,690 speakers of Awjila . The number of Siwi speakers in Libya

11200-515: The war in the Iberian Peninsula. With a small detachment still positioned in Gaul, Scipio made an attempt to intercept Hannibal. He succeeded, through prompt decision and speedy movement, in transporting his army to Italy by sea in time to meet Hannibal. Hannibal's forces moved through the Po Valley and were engaged in the Battle of Ticinus . Here, Hannibal forced the Romans to evacuate the plain of Lombardy , by virtue of his superior cavalry. The victory

11312-598: The west, where he stormed the Vaccaen strongholds of Helmantice and Arbucala. On his return home, laden with many spoils, a coalition of Spanish tribes, led by the Carpetani , attacked, and Hannibal won his first major battlefield success and showed off his tactical skills at the battle of the River Tagus. Rome, fearing the growing strength of Hannibal in Iberia, made an alliance with the city of Saguntum , which lay

11424-631: The winter, Hannibal found comfortable quarters in the Apulian plain. In the spring of 216 BC, Hannibal took the initiative and seized the large supply depot at Cannae in the Apulian plain. By capturing Cannae, Hannibal had placed himself between the Romans and their crucial sources of supply. Once the Roman Senate resumed their consular elections in 216 BC, they appointed Gaius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paullus as consuls . In

11536-628: Was already debated). The most influential modern theories favour either a march up the valley of the Drôme and a crossing of the main range to the south of the modern highway over the Col de Montgenèvre or a march farther north up the valleys of the Isère and Arc crossing the main range near the present Col de Mont Cenis or the Little St Bernard Pass . Recent numismatic evidence suggests that Hannibal's army passed within sight of

11648-536: Was announced that Tamazight had been added as a national and official language in a draft amendment to the Algerian constitution; it was added to the constitution as a national and official language on February 7, 2016. Although regional councils in Libya's Nafusa Mountains affiliated with the National Transitional Council reportedly use the Berber language of Nafusi and have called for it to be granted co-official status with Arabic in

11760-460: Was described in 2015. The generic name , " Tataouinea ", references the city of Tataouine, while the specific name , " hannibalis ", honors the Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca . Berber language Northern Berber Kabyle Atlas Zenati Western Berber Eastern Berber Tuareg The Berber languages , also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight , are

11872-591: Was developed following the introduction of the Latin script in the nineteenth century by the West. The nineteenth century also saw the development of Neo-Tifinagh, an adaptation of Tuareg Tifinagh for use with other Berber languages. There are now three writing systems in use for Berber languages: Tifinagh, the Arabic script, and the Berber Latin alphabet , with the Latin alphabet being the most widely used today. With

11984-462: Was embodied in the ruling oligarchy . There was a Carthaginian Senate, but the real power was with the inner "Council of 30 Nobles" and the board of judges from ruling families known as the " Hundred and Four ". These two bodies came from the wealthy, commercial families of Carthage. Two political factions operated in Carthage: the war party, also known as the " Barcids " (Hannibal's family name), and

12096-457: Was full of difficulties, but it remained the surest and certainly the quickest way to central Italy. Polybius claims that Hannibal's men marched for four days and three nights "through a land that was under water", suffering terribly from fatigue and enforced want of sleep. He crossed without opposition over both the Apennines (during which he lost his right eye because of conjunctivitis ) and

12208-517: Was minor, but it encouraged the Gauls and Ligurians to join the Carthaginian cause. Their troops bolstered his army back to around 40,000 men. Scipio was severely injured, his life only saved by the bravery of his son who rode back onto the field to rescue his fallen father. Scipio retreated across the Trebia to camp at Placentia with his army mostly intact. The other Roman consular army was rushed to

12320-516: Was not without loss, as Sempronius avoided Hannibal's watchfulness, slipped around his flank, and joined his colleague in his camp near the Trebia River near Placentia . There Hannibal had an opportunity to show his masterful military skill at the Trebia in December of the same year, after wearing down the superior Roman infantry, when he cut it to pieces with a surprise attack and ambush from

12432-461: Was one of only three interpreters—the others being John Lazenby and Jakob Seibert—to have visited all the Alpine high passes and presented a view on which was most plausible. Both De Beer and Seibert had selected the Col de la Traversette as the one most closely matching the ancient descriptions. Polybius wrote that Hannibal had crossed the highest of the Alpine passes: Col de la Traversette, between

12544-697: Was originally planned by Hannibal's brother-in-law Hasdrubal the Fair, who became a Carthaginian general in the Iberian Peninsula in 229 BC. He maintained this post for eight years until 221 BC. Soon the Romans became aware of an alliance between Carthage and the Celts of the Po Valley in Northern Italy. When Hannibal arrived in the Po Valley, roughly 10,000 Celtic tribesmen joined his army. The Celts were amassing forces to invade farther south in Italy, presumably with Carthaginian backing. Therefore,

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